1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the production of 3D TV or Motion Pictures using novel electro-opto-mechanical devices. The system utilizes a continuous panning camera, a screen, and the images are viewed through photopic and scotopic filters using eyeglasses or a special raster screen. The photopic and scotopic filters and glasses have been described. [1,2]. Scenes photographed by the device of this invention are compatible with standard motion pictures and TV, the viewer seeing such scenes in 2D. However when such scenes are seen through scotopic-photopic eyeglass viewers, or through a photopic-scotopic raster described hereinafter, such scenes consistently appear in 3D. The scenes may be recorded on film, VCR tape or transmitted live via broadcast or cable.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The Pulfrich Effect is well known, originally demonstrated with an eyeglass viewer having a dark neutral density filter of about 10% transmittance over one eye, and no filter over the other eye. The dark filter induced scotopic (rod) vision) in one eye, and the eye with no filter had the normal photopic (cone) vision. The photopic scotopic viewers [1,2] used two filters one yellow or yellow green to induce photopic (cone) vision, and the other neutral violet to induce scotopic (rod) vision. The three dimensional effect produced is due to a natural time delay between the transmission of signals of a photopic image in a first eye, and a scotopic image in a second eye to the visual area in the rear of the brain via the optic nerve fibres. Thus, images of objects in a scene which move with horizontal velocity are displaced on the visual area of the brain, and cause the images to be perceived in three dimension.
The photopic-scotopic viewers of the prior art produced excellent 3D images of certain scenes in which objects at certain distances moved in a particular direction with a particular velocity, which may be expressed as an angular velocity. A preferred angular velocity produced an excellent three dimensional effect, which otherwise did not appear. An example of a scene in which objects have a preferred angular velocity is a parade with marchers moving in a left to right direction with a velocity of about 0.5 to 1.5 m/s, and 1-20 m distant from the camera; that is, with an angular velocity of about 2..times.10.sup.-2 to 2. radians per sec. (about 1.2 to 120.degree./sec, respectively) and viewed with the photopic lenses (yellow) on the left eye, and scenes having moving objects in an opposite direction produce a pseudoscopic effect, or scenes with no motion, as with still objects, produce no 3D effect at all. The lack of consistent 3D normally experienced and expected was disconcerting, and prevented the commercial success of the prior art photopic-scotopic glasses.
Prior art Pat. Nos. 4,705,371 issued Nov. 10, 1987 [4], 4,836,647 issued Jun. 6, 1989 [5] and 4,893,898 issued Jan. 16, 1990 all to Terry D. Beard record a scene in a camera by providing a relative lateral motion between the objects in a scene and the recording mechanism by rotating the objects on a turntable. This method is limited to a special setup; and cannot be used with live scenes where the lateral motion of objects is uncontrolled or nonexistent.